Electric Vehicle News for North Central Washington

When it comes to making charging infrastructure for electric vehicles easy to install, Douglas County is way ahead of the curve. While much of the nation struggles with how to change and update existing land use, zoning, permitting and other codes for the easy installation of the charging stations these next generation vehicles need, Douglas County has taken a different approach and found a much simpler way to do it—in a fashion that fits in well with Eastern Washington’s cultural landscape.

As the initial piece of the puzzle in what will eventually be the nation’s first ‘EV-friendly’ scenic tourism corridor along U.S. Route 2 from Seattle to Wenatchee, Wash., the two electric car charging stations opened at Stevens Pass ski resort on June 2, 2011, are not only the first modern universal electric car charging stations over any mountain pass in the U.S., they represent a gigantic milestone in the quest to make all of North Central Washington a place where electric vehicles can flourish.

Leave it to Washington: After gaining recognition for the U.S.’s first EV-friendly highway initiative in 2010, the state has decided to ring in the New Year by announcing the nation’s first EV-friendly scenic byway and tourism route.